Method of applying coatings



TI'I' MIN/6 y- F. H. STEVENSON 1.719.524

METHOD OF APPLYING COATINGS Filed March 25, 1922 x If UNITED STATES.

PATENT-OFFICE FREDERICK HENRY STEVENSON, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA: ASSIGN OR. TO

PENNSYLVANIA CHOCOLATECOMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, IENNSYLVANIA, A. COR- rona'rron or PENNSYLVANIA.

METHOD OF APPLYING COATINGS.

Application filed latch 25, .1922. Serial mi. 548,886.

My'p'resent' invention relates to ,confectionery, and more particularly to the production of frozen food stuffs contained within comestible casings.

It' will be understood that this invention relates, broadly, to masses or blocks of material which are adapted and intended for hu- I man consumption and that where the term's confectionery or-food stuffs are used 1t 1s intended to include broadly all similar mateis generally employed a process in which a block of the frozen food stuff, such as icecream, is dipped into a heated fluid mass of the coating composition such asone having a chocolate base. I have found that where this dipping is done rapidly, the edible chocolate casing produced thereby about the frozen. block of ice-cream ,is generally of a thickness silbstantiallymonstant"for a given composition but dependent in part upon the'nature of the composition regardless of the shortness in the length of time the block is per- ,mitted to be immersed in the fluid composition. This phenomenon is explained by the fact that the action of the frozen block immediatelyupon its immersion into the composition is .tocongeal the fluid immediately adj acent thereto. How "rapid'this action is, may be understood when it is realized that but'a few degrees" in temperature lie between the solidand fluid conditions of the composition to which my invention is directed inits preferred form. When, therefore, a, block of frozen material, such asice-cream, is imm'ersed. abruptly into the molten'bath of the composition, it will take but amoment for the block toproduce the; slight" lowering in the temperature of the, surrounding fluid necessary to cause instant hardening of such surroundin fluid. This solidification or congelation will Occur to. a depth where the normal natural heat insulating characteristics of the portion of the'composition thus solidified will become effective to materially reduce, if not wholly overcome, any tendency of the block enclosed thereby from acting to cause a solidification of the composition to a still further depth duringthe short interval of 69 immersion.

In other words, with the like character of composition, I have found that the coating or casing produced in the manner described is generally of a substantially uniform thick-v ness and does not vary substantially with any variat'ion, within limits, in the length of the immersion of theblock. This thickness, for purpose of convenience, will be referred to as the critical thickness,which term when used 70 hereafter will be understodd as meaning that .urliform thickness which is produced when a.

predetermined composition-isemployed. 4

The composition which I have'employed, and which is fully set forth in my application, Serial No. 537 ,637 filed February 18, 1922, was evolved with the purposes, among others, of the production of a casing which has the desired characteristics from. the standpoint of costof production and palatability among 8 others. The critical thickness incident to the employment of this composition has been i such that more of the composition is taken up and congealed than is necessary .to give the casing its formq'etaining character, with B the -resulting unnecessarily increased cost.

Furthermore, this added quantity of the composition, e; g., when chocolate in flavor, may prove distasteful to those to whom the content of th coating is notpalatable, particularly in excess quantities. Y Where I have attempted t5 overcomethese objections by varying this dritical thickness of the coating by changin the character of the composition, such as by an increase of the cocoa butter components in chocolate coatings, I have found that the increase in the quantity of cocoa butter used, in addition to. increasing the ex ense of the composition and being distaste 111, has also caused the composition to have a cloying effect. 4

'Among the more important objects of the present invention, therefore, are the provi-.

sion of a frozen food product having a co mestibl casing of greater palatability than 7 9 others own to me; the ,production of a enerally salatable comestible casing for a rozen foo substance by the em 10 ment of production thereof; the provision of an imroved process for reducing a casin havmg the desired thie ess which inclu es the step of reducing the thickness subsequently to the production of the article; the provision of an im roved process for thinning the coating 0 a frozen foodproduct by means of heat; the

rovision of improved mechanism for attaining these ends and of the article produced by the employment of my process; and the provision of an improved apparatus and method of performing my improved process by means of said apparatus and of the control of incidents to the operation thereof adapted for the inexpensive production of a uniform product; together with such further and other objects as will hereinafter ap ear or be pointed out.

In the drawings, I ave illustrated a preferred form of my apparatus ,whereby my roce ss is employed for the roduction of a roze n food stuff possessing t e desired characteristics.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the apparatus, and

Fi re 2 is a view in side elevation with a part in section.

' Thus, as will be obvious, the

'drawa'l of the block with the casing formed thereabout may result in the casing having thereon some of the coating in only a partly 'di (1 to In carrying out my im roved process, the dipping of the blocks of ice-cream is preferably done in a closed room or chamber kept at a temperature of about to F., such relatively low temperature being desirably employed to prevent softenin of the icecream, where such is employe As a result of this relatively low tem era ture, the coatin on the outside of the lock hardens immediately u on withdrawal from the bath of molten coating material, the ortion immediately adjacent to the frozen ood product having become completely solidified.

quick withsolidified state but too greatly so 1 e 1 'drip or drain oil and the solidification of any such part will be completed by the rela tively low temperature maintained in the chamber. I r

, pon viewing Figure 2 of the drawing, it will be observe that the block of frozen ood stuffll) is dipped into the composition 11,

which is maintained in a molten state in the generally at 13. 1

To facilitate the dippin a handle member 14 is inserted into the bloc and to obtain the best results in the shortest time, the insertion' of the block 10 into the composition mass 11 and its withdrawal therefrom is performed quickly.

The block is preferably removed from this point toward a cooling room by means of the endless conveyor 15 driven in any desired or preferred manner.

The casing thus formed is of the normal or critical thickness, as already set-forth. With the employment of a composition, such as that set forth in my application above re ferred to, this thickness is greater than that necessary to give the casing its most imporness of the casing and in the quantity of the material therein, may be 'obtalned.

For the attainment of this, I cause each block 10 of the frozen food stuff coated as and in the manner described to be subjected to the action of heat to again reduce the outermost portion of the coating to a condition where such portion of the coating will assume a suflicient uidity to drip off. For the accomplishment of this end, I have illustrated in the drawing a tunnel 16 so arranged and constructed that the blocks 10 in their movement by the conveyor15 are caused to pass therethrough. This tunnel 16 is maintained at a sufiiciently relatively high temperature b the resistance elements 17 so as to drain 0 the desired percentage.

As will be understood, the percentage that is drained off in the manner above described can be made p'redeterminedly uniform by a predetermination of the length of the tunnel as well as its other characteristics and of the dered extremely effective by giving itsuch special relationshi to the reservoir 11 that t e solidifying e ect of the temperature maintained in.the chamber will not be fully effective when the block reaches the tunnel.

vUpon reviewing the drawing, it will be observed how closely adjacent the reservoir 1 11 I have positioned to the tunnel 16. By

this arrangement, I have attainedthe further 1 result that the drippings from the blocks 10 of the inclined drain boards 18.

One of the marked advantages of certain -products formed by my improved process is that they may be bitten into and crushed 125. are drained'into the reservoir 11 by means venting collapse thereof, or sporting of the contents in t e event of liquefactionras 111 A the case of a core formed from ice-cream or the like.

' voir, it-will be understood that my present While I have, for illustrative purposes, described my improved process in connection withan a paratus including a reservoir for fluid coating, a heated tunnel and smle-strand conveyor passihg therethrough or'removing material dipped in such reserinvention also contemplates the employment of a series of ara'llel conveying elements,- or a reticulated material of filaments such as wire or the like, forming an open-work .drainage structure in the nature of. a wirecloth band to constitute the-conveyor upon which blocks of ice-cream or the likemay be laid reparatory to coating by an enrobing mac ine.

This enrobing machinemay be one such as is shown and described in the French patent to Savy, and manufactured in the United States by the National Equipment Company of Springfield, Massachusetts, or may be of other suitable or desired form for. associating the coating with the frozen food product by ,application of the coating thereto rather than by dipping the food product thereinto. i Simrlarl heat may be developed at a point external 0 the tunnel and conveyed thereto in any convenient manner as by a fan or other conductor, or heated air maybe directed immediately upon the coated blocks by means of a sultable arrangement of ducts leading from a conven ent source of supply.

Having thus described my invention an illustrated its use, what I claim as new and desire to secure-by Letters Patent is 1. The process of treatinga food stuff having an edible center and a solid liquefiable coating, which includes raisingthe temperature about the entire exterior ofthe same to' cause a portion" of the coating thereof to assume a liquid'state and remove itself from the article.

2. The process of producing food stuffs -which includes the formation of a" frozen confection, the application of a comestible liquefiable coating, and subjectingsaid coat ing to heat to reduce same-to lessthan the critical thickness 1 consequent upon the difference in thermal conditions. between the interior and exterior of the confection.

3. The process of producing confectionery which includes associating a frozen core with a jacket of edible material, and immediately thereafter lowering the viscosity of. the jacket for reducing its depth.

4.- The process of producing confectionery which includes associatin 'a frozen core with a coating material in a uidstate and then passing said-confectionery through a heated chamber. q

5. The process'of producing-confectionery which includes associatin a frozen, corewith the coating material in a uid state and immediately thereafter passing said. confectionery through a heated chamber. y i v 6. The processof producing confectionery which includes associating a .frozen core with a coating material in a fluid state and then passing said confectionery through a heated area-.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my'nam e d FREDERICK HENRY: STEVENSON. 1 

